Various proposals have been made heretofore to increase the capabilities of utility meters, and to permit payment by credit card. However, all such proposals have either been severely limited in their capabilities or have been unreasonably complex and expensive.
Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a versatile and economical utility meter system having all of the functions and providing all of the information of interest to customers and to the utility company, in a practical and economical configuration and one which is compatible with existing facilities.